1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a waste disposal landfill having at least one subsurface impermeable sheet to contain and direct fluid runoff from the site, which impermeable sheet can be remotely monitored with respect to its impermeability to verify that no waste is passing therethrough. More particularly, the invention relates to an impermeable sheet, such as those used in a waste disposal landfill, the impermeability of which sheet can be remotely monitored to verify the integrity of the sheet.
2. Background Information
In order to keep pollutants from seeping into deeper layers of the ground under a waste disposal landfill, a multilayer structure of impermeable sheets of plastic are typically used. Each of these layers can drain into separate drainage tubes, and the drainage tubes themselves can drain into inspection pits. Thus, one method of monitoring the integrity of the sheets is to analyze the drainage in the inspection pits for pollutants. Such a design of waste disposal landfill including means for monitoring the drainage, however, is expensive and thus not always feasible. In addition, the content of the seepage water discharged from the tubes into the inspection pits cannot be easily monitored at a remote site, and generally must be inspected on site at least by collecting a runoff sample and taking it to be analyzed by an analysis laboratory.